Number of Welsh students referred to regulator dropping dramatically

The number of social work students referred to the social care regulator in Wales has fallen by more than a third in two years.

A report by the Care Council for Wales, Raising Standards in Social Care, says the number of referrals by higher education institutions has dropped from 26 in 2008/2009 to 10 in 2010/2011.

It adds that the drop may be attributed to universities improving their application assessment procedures, which in turn is resulting in fewer students on courses who are not suitable for a career in social work.

It also says that 251 of 10,541 registrants were removed for failing to pay their annual fee and/or failing to renew their registration, while five social workers were referred to committee for failing to fulfil post registration training and learning requirements.

BASW Cymru manager Robin Moulster said: “I would echo the comments of the report and add that it indicates that the quality of social work students appears to have increased which can only be good news for service users in throughout Wales.”